Bedtime Battles

When Olivia was a toddler, Steve and I were nighttime Nazi's.  Bedtime came along, and she didn't dare get out of bed...else she face the wrath of mom and dad.  She would sometimes stand at the top of the stairs and yell down that she needed us, and we'd yell back "Get back in bed" and she would.

When Jack came along, we tried to maintain that strictness about bedtime.  He went through a little phase of coming downstairs after we tucked him in, but it didn't last long. 

Then Grant came along.  We were older.  We didn't have as much energy for sticking to our guns about things that might not matter so much in the long run...and Grant has our number.  On lots of levels. 

A few months back, Grant was convinced that the "monster from Harry Potter" was sleeping in his bed, so he was scared.  Then, the three kids started sleeping together in the same room (or even the same bed sometimes) and got used to having each other for company.  The past week or so, we've been trying to get everyone back in their own room, and their own bed, so that they're all well rested in the morning.  Sharing a twin bed doesn't exactly provide the most restful night of slumber.

Lately, Grant alternates between saying there's snakes or spiders in his bed, depending on his mood, and the night. It usually takes only about 10 minutes after we tuck him in for him to wander downstairs needing a snuggle.

Some nights, we quickly shoo him back up the stairs to bed.  But other nights, when it's painfully obvious how quickly he is growing up, we let him climb on the couch with us.  And when we do, this is usually how the evening ends up.
 

Are we creating a bad habit?  Probably.  
Will it really matter in the long run?  Probably not.